The attempted jumper
Danya Levy at Stuff reports:
A row has erupted over comments the Prime Minister made as a man tried to throw himself over a railing in Parliament today.
There were gasps from MPs as the man, heard muttering about injustices, tried to launch himself from the public gallery into the debating chamber below.
As security guards, a solicitor and diplomatic protection squad officers tried to drag the man back over the bannister, Labour says John Key cried across the house “shame on Labour”.
As the speaker shouted for silence, Labour MPs, including deputy leader Annette King, were spitting, calling out “scumbag” repeatedly towards the National benches. …
Wading into the war of words, senior Labour MP David Cunliffe said Key had tried to turn the incident into a political event.
“He said ‘you should be ashamed of yourself, that’s down to you guys’, meaning Labour.”
Cunliffe said the comment was inappropriate because the man might have been attempting to commit suicide.
“To turn that into a political event shows a personality trait that most people don’t often see of the prime minister and it brought the House into disrepute.
“It’s a very low point in the House.”
But a spokeswoman for Key said Labour had the wrong end of the stick.
In a short email, they said: “The Prime Minister’s comments following the incident were a reflection on the Labour Party’s continued criticism of his DPS security detail – which included criticism of his being accompanied inside the parliamentary complex. It should be noted a DPS member was involved in restraining the member of the public.”
I’ve got three thoughts on this.
My first is that it was a pretty horrific incident for all MPs. You could see how stunned many MPs were. The madman could have killed himself if he landed badly. He also could have seriously injured anyone he landed on, and finally he could also have posed a threat to the subjects of his ire. It would be a shame if NZ had to end up with barriers from the gallery, as in other countries.
The second is that no party or MP is responsible for the actions of a demented protester. Anyone who suggests an MP or party is to blame, is wrong.
The third point is around security. Phil Goff was unwise to attack the level of protection the PM has, as he did in May. Even more unwise to have claimed he would not have the DPS in Parliament, as it was a DPS officer who helped restrain the demented one. Likewise we have had Trevor Mallard claim Key has the DPS in Parliament just to carry his water bottle to the gym. Sure in this case the protester was more likely to hurt a Labour MP as he was on their side of the House, he could just as easily have gone to the other side. And his grudge seemed to clearly be with Government Ministers, as he mentioned both Bennett and Key by name it seems.
No one can know, except the PM, what he meant by his comments. I suspect those on the left will interpret them in the worst light, and those on the right in the most charitable. Labour may wish to reflect that regardless of what the motivation was, if they hadn’t made such idiots of themselves over the issue of security for the PM, then he wouldn’t have that as an “excuse”.
And it was not just once or twice. By my account Labour have criticised the PMs use of the DPS on a dozen or so occasions. Mallard and Hipkins have blogged on it, Goff has commented on it, Cosgrove has asked oral questions on it and Pete Hodgson has asked written questions about it. They’ve had a co-ordinated campaign suggesting the PM doesn’t really have any threats, and trying to portray his protection detail as being about his ego. With that in mind, one can understand his reaction if a guy yelling his name tries to jump into the debating chamber.
It’s a bit unfortunate that the House will end tomorrow on a bit of a sour note. Because despite everything I think there has been less rancour in the House than previous Parliaments.